OUT8068 - Planning and Evaluating Education and Outreach Programs

Course Code

OUT8068

Course Title

Planning and Evaluating Education and Outreach Programs

Description

If you want to demonstrate the value of education and outreach programs, you must implement programs that deliver results. During this course, you’ll learn to use a deliberate planning process that promotes strategic, accountable, and adaptive action resulting in programs that support achieving resource management goals. “Planning and Evaluating Education and Outreach Programs” is designed to assist U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) employees, and others working with public audiences, use a planning and evaluation model to develop programs that support an organization’s conservation mission. This process can be used to develop any type of public program, including: environmental education; outdoor skills, interpretive, and citizen science programs; nature camps; internship/YCC programs; and etc. Participants who successfully complete the course will take away a nascent plan that can be completed with their stakeholders.

How the course works: This course is built on principles of adult learning, using the “authentic task approach”. It is delivered online through an online classroom (Moodle) and live instructor-led webinars. Participants start, end and progress through the course together and with course instructors, and independently complete assignments each week (“homework”*) within each module online through Moodle. For each module there are three parts, done by participants in the following order:Part 1 – Participants learn the content which is delivered in the Moodle online classroomPart 2 – Participants apply the content to their site by completing assignments in between the webinarsPart 3 – Participants and instructors discuss the assignments and application of the content to their situation during the live webinars*Please expect to dedicate three to four hours each week, in addition to the webinars, to complete Parts 1 & 2.

OBJECTIVES:Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:• Use the program planning and evaluation model to create programs that support achieving your resource management goals;• Identify the learning and subsequent action outcomes your program will be designed to achieve;• Write measurable outcome objectives;• Select activities to achieve desired outcomes; and• Develop a program evaluation framework